Some excellent data was released showing the changes in family spending between 2007 and 2011. What we find is that family spending has increased on items that are daily needs (i.e., rent, food, healthcare) while items that can be considered luxury have fallen (i.e., home furnishing, autos, etc). However, during this period family spending on rents has gone up over 15% and has come at the expense of the Fed picking winners. Banks knows this. That is why inventory is low and with stagnant incomes the standard of living for many Americans continues to go lower